Schadensersatz bei Missbrauch einer marktbeherrschenden Stellung

The prohibition of abuse of a dominant position is gaining importance in private enforcement due to the highly concentrated digital markets and the increasing number of actions for damages (e.g. Idealo against Google). According to the Damages Directive 2014/104/EU and the 9th Amendment to the German Competition Act (GWB), injured parties should receive comprehensive rights to have their damages compensated and thus also effectively enforce the prohibition of abuse of a dominant position. However, these innovations primarily focus on cartels, even though the ECJ's guideline decision "Courage" was issued in a case similar to a abuse of a dominant position. This creates deficits for victims of an abuse of market power, since some regulations are not geared to the abuse of a dominant position, while others expressly apply only to cartels.